Sunday, December 03, 2006

Surprising Low-Carb Gift Idea: A Waffle Maker?

What can a low-carber do with a waffle maker?

Now that it's December, you've probably already graced the presence of a shopping mall, retail store, or even the Internet to find that "perfect" gift for the special people in your life. It's such a shame that it takes a once-per-year holiday like Christmas for us to FINALLY acknowledge our love and appreciation for those we care about through the giving of gifts. But better late than never!

I don't know about you, but I enjoy receiving practical gifts that will help me maintain my low-carb lifestyle in new and exciting ways. The stereotype that livin' la vida low-carb is boring is in my estimation more a reflection of the person who thinks it is boring rather than the actual diet itself. With just a little creativity and ingenuity, low-carb living can be quite enticing for anyone to do.

One of my faithful readers offered an example of this in an e-mail to me this week. She said she was watching one of those television shopping channels for entertainment purposes and one of the hosts of the show was featuring a waffle maker. As they cooked up these big beautiful traditional Belgian waffles with high-carb batter, you'll never believe what they made next!

The host said she doesn't like to eat excessive carbohydrates which are generally found in most waffles, so she uses the machine to make a unique "waffle" of her own using eggs instead. That's right, she beat some eggs and mixed in her favorite omelette ingredients and poured it into the waffle machine. In less than a minute--VOILA!--she had a freshly-made low-carb "waffle" hot and ready to eat! Yummy!

What an excellent idea! Before I started livin' la vida low-carb, I was a BIG FAN of waffles. I have not even touched a waffle iron since because I didn't even think about using it in this way for a low-carb meal. Now low-carbers have a reason to use a waffle maker for an excellent breakfast or anytime snack.

My reader said this was a "really cool thing" for people who have a waffle iron because it gives you the "fun of hacking a high-carb product." LOL! Yes, it really does! Even if you don't have a waffle maker yet, I think you'll find this one will do the trick for you and it comes HIGHLY recommended. I've already told Christine I want one for Christmas! :D

And if you want to make a REAL low-carb waffle, then there are options available out there available to you, including delicious waffle mixes from Big Train, Flax Z Snax, Dixie Carb Counters, and, of course, Carbquik. These all cook up golden brown just like their high-carb counterparts, but with significantly less carbs! WOO HOO!

So, as surprising as it may sound, an excellent low-carb gift idea for that person who is livin' la vida low-carb so faithfully can indeed be a Waffle Maker. Whodathunkit?

1 Comments:

I already have a waffle maker - a regular one, not a belgian type. Wonder if I can make "omelet" waffles using that one?

Or maybe I should just whip the egg whites to peaks, fold in the beaten yolks, add some melted butter (or maybe cream? This may take a little experimentation!), a little vanilla and a touch of stevia to make a "sweet" waffle. Then make a "syrup" from vanilla whey powder (use only one ounce of water per scoop, instead of what they call for so it'll be nice and thick!), whisked up with a little bit of strawberry or raspberry unsweetened kool-aid powder. Mmmmm... my mouth is watering already! If I was eating more carbs right now, I'd slice up some berries over the top of that waffle too.

Oooooh, how about chicken and waffles? Chicken and waffles is a Pennsylvania Dutch specialty, very popular around these parts. Skip the vanilla and stevia, and serve chicken and gravy (make the gravy low carb, of course!) over the steaming hot waffle.